Amy's Fruit Dip

Amy G. made this wonderful fruit dip for the Progressive Dinner Appetizer 2018.

1 C. Brown Sugar
8 Oz softened cream cheese

Mix and serve.

Jacque's Strawberry Frosting

This recipe is from Jacque M. so you know it's good!  It is a light whipped cream frosting.

1/2 C. mashed strawberries (fresh or frozen) (measure after mashed)
3 T. sugar
3 oz softened cream cheese
3/4 C. heavy whipping cream

Beat strawberries and sugar in mixer.  Add cream cheese and mix until smooth.  Add whipping cream and beat until stiff.

Pretzel Jello

This is what I took to Thanksgiving this year. I will post 2 variations of the recipe. The one with pineapple is the one I tend to make and the one with just strawberries is from my sis-in-law. They are both good.

Pretzels, crushed (not to a powder, but into pieces). Measuring 2 2/3 C. after crushed.

3/4 C. melted margarine or butter

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 C. white sugar

12 oz. coolwhip, divided (I do Fat Free)

2 C. boiling water

6 oz strawberry jello

10 oz. frozen sliced strawberries, thawed (save juice)

20 oz can crushed pineapple (drained well)

Put pretzels in the bottom of a cake pan. Pour melted butter over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool completely (at least 1 hour).

Blend softened cream cheese, sugar and 8 oz. coolwhip (not all 12 oz). Spread over cooled pretzels.

Mix water and gelatin until dissolved. Add strawberries with juice and drained pineapple. Pour carefully over cream cheese layer. Let set in fridge.

Once set. Spread the remaining coolwhip over the top.

Version #2

2 C. crushed pretzels

3T. sugar

3/4 C. melted butter

8 oz cream cheese, room temp.

1/2 C. sugar

small carton cool whip

20 oz frozen sliced strawberries, or 1 qt. fresh (sliced)

6 oz. strawberry jello

2 C. boiling water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the pretzels, 3 T. sugar and melted butter. Put into a 9 X 13 pan. Bake for 7-8 min until toasty. Set aside to cool.

Beat together cream cheese, cool whip and 1/2 C. sugar. Spread over cooled crust.

Combine strawberries, jello and boiling water until jello is dissolved. Let stand in refrigerator until partially jelled, then pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

So for the last few years I have wanted to make strawberry jam.  My two good friends Chris and Amy always make such yummy yummy strawberry jam that I wanted some for myself.  It seems like the strawberry season slips by me and I never do it.  This year I swore I was going to do it.  Then I could never really find a good price on strawberries so I kept putting it off and putting it off.  Then one day while I was at my Mom's her neighbor came by and asked if she wanted any of her strawberries off her plants.  So lo and behold I got strawberries.  That means I was really committed.  I was scared.  (of what I'm not sure---I guess failure).  Any way I did it today...my first attempt at strawberry freezer jam.

This is the pectin I used...thanks to my good friend Amy!  Thanks Amy!

It was an instant pectin (I didn't even know there was such a thing!!!).  You didn't have to cook the fruit at all.  Just mix a pkg of the pectin and 1 & 1/2 C. sugar and 4 C. of crushed strawberries.  Stir for 3 minutes.  Then place in clean containers.  Freeze for up to 1 year. (These are just the instructions from the pkg...I didn't do anything special).  It was really quite easy.  It did take a few hours.  I had two big popcorn bowls full and it made a little over 12 C. of crushed strawberries.  So I needed 3 pkgs of pectin and 4 & 1/2 C. sugar.  Then I got 9 containers worth.  The pkg says that each pkg makes 5 pints.

I'll have to let you know how it tastes!  I am way excited and really proud of myself!

Do any of you have any canning or jam experiences or advice for the rest of us?!?!?!  For example I am wondering if you can put the freezer jam in other containers?  Such as cottage cheese containers?